


Words are Hard

by casual_distance



Series: More Than One [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Communication, Fights, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Timestamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6671584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casual_distance/pseuds/casual_distance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things finally get hashed out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Words are Hard

**Author's Note:**

> Technically, this is set after the first chapter of _Set of Three_ , but this is written more in a “headcanon” style rather than as actual narrative so I wanted to separate it out.

Dean and Castiel talked about it. They talked about it so much that Dean got pissed and stormed out. He told Castiel he was tired of talking about it and would he just make a goddamned decision already?

So Castiel does.

He and Gabriel met at an old haunt, a favorite of theirs before things ended up fucked up. Gabriel seemed wary, eyeing the bar and eyeing Castiel like he expected the worst. It was already a bad start and Castiel should have known better, but he didn't heed the warning signs. Once they'd ordered and Gabriel was downing his third drink, Castiel brought it up. He wanted to know what had happened, why Gabriel hadn't been faithful to Castiel in the one way that really mattered.

Gabriel stared at him for a long time, face shuttered off, mouth twisted up in a half-grimace, half-sneer.

"Don't know why it's such a big deal to you," he said before tossing back a shot. "We weren't anything more than a fling, Cas."

Castiel stared at him, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth dropped open. He stared until Gabriel jerked his chin in a silent challenge. Castiel shook his head and left Gabriel there without saying a word. He didn't look back and he didn't see the way Gabriel dropped his head to the table, hands tangled in his hair.

Castiel went home and cleaned. He scrubbed the kitchen counters, washed all the dishes that had been lingering, got down on his hands and knees to clean the floor. He vacuumed and dusted and did laundry, even the old clothes that didn't fit quite right and were saved for when laundry was most needed. He sorted through his closet, stacking things to be tossed and other things to be donated.

Dean found him like that, knee deep in piles of freshly-washed clothes.

When he asked Castiel what happened, he broke down, furious and frustrated and unhappy. When he told Dean about Gabriel's harsh words, Dean gathered him into a hug and lured him into the living room to curl up on the couch together.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Dean said and Castiel nodded.

"I know he didn't, but it's still a hateful thing to say."

Dean agreed and let it go at that. He helped Castiel clean up the mess from the closet and then tucked him into bed to sleep the night away, telling Castiel he'd feel better in the morning. Castiel gave him a baleful look, but curled into a ball and fell asleep just the same.

 

* * *

 

Dean was already awake the next morning, fighting with Cas’s coffee maker, when someone knocked on the door. Gabriel was on the other side, looking exhausted and worn out, face pale, dark bags under his eyes. He flinched when he saw Dean. Dean leaned up against the door jamb and stared him down until Gabriel flailed.

"What?"

"Nothin', man, just wondering what your problem is?"

Gabriel stared at him for a long time. He seemed to be at a loss, being asked questions he didn’t know the answer to. Dean folded his arms over his chest and waited. He waited for Gabriel to crack, waited until Gabriel admitted he was an asshole, that he was there to make things right, that he was wrong to shut down on Cas the way he did. Appeased, Dean stepped back and let Gabriel in.

He warned Gabriel that Cas was asleep and that he wasn’t going to wake him just for Gabriel. Gabriel agreed; said he was fine with that; he could wait. Dean disappeared back into the kitchen while Gabriel sat on the couch and played with his phone. Dean brought him a mug of coffee and sat in the recliner and ignored Gabriel for the news.

It was only once the after-news talk show is on that Dean muted the TV and turned to Gabriel.

"So what's the deal anyway?" he asked.

Gabriel felt the heat of embarrassment climb the back of his neck. He shrugged and looked away.

"Oh, come on, man," Dean said, setting his mug down with a thump. "Do you even get why Cas was upset with you way back when? Why he broke it off with you?"

Gabriel gaped, surprised that Dean knew anything about their history. When he asked what Dean knew, Dean just shook his head.

"Everything, Gabe. Cas told me everything."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"What exactly?"

Gabriel shrugged. He fiddled with his mug. "The poly thing. Our history. I don' know- any of it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Talk to Cas without being an ass," Dean ordered before he got up and left Gabriel alone in the living room.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before Dean was back again, Castiel trailing after him, hair wild, eyes half closed. His gaze lingered on Gabriel, who stood by the couch, shifting from one foot to the other, but he didn't acknowledge him, just followed after Dean into the kitchen.

Gabriel stood there, frozen and miserable, until Dean left the kitchen.

"I'm gonna pick up some food. What do you want?" he asked Gabriel, but Gabriel only stared at him blankly.

From the doorway of the kitchen, Castiel rolled his eyes. "He likes waffles with lots of whipped cream and chocolate of any kind," he told Dean. "You know what I like."

Dean pressed a kiss to Castiel's lips and flipped them both a salute goodbye. Gabriel stayed standing in the living room while Castiel wandered back into his bedroom. When he came back out, dressed for the day, Gabriel was still standing there.

"Dean wants me to talk to you," he told Gabriel.

"Yeah, he said that to me too," Gabriel admitted.

Castiel gestured to the couch and Gabriel sat. He settled on the other end, watching Gabriel curiously. Gabriel fidgeted until Castiel asked him to explain himself.

He struggled, the words caught in his throat, his chest tight, but he finally admitted he was jealous of Dean, that he'd seen the way Castiel looked at Dean, that Castiel used to look at Gabriel that way. He was afraid Castiel wanted closure, that he was ready to move on, but Gabriel wasn't. He never had and he didn't know how to do it now.

Castiel studied him for a moment, then asked, plainly, expectantly, "So what happened? Back then?"

Gabriel covered his face with his hands. He admitted that he wasn't ready for a poly relationship. He'd been too young, too insecure to understand what it really meant. He'd been pissed at Castiel for wanting that, and when Castiel had started dating his girlfriend, he'd found one for himself out of spite. He let the situation get out of hand because he hadn't understood that Castiel could love them both, that love wasn't always so singular, that Castiel’s never was.

"But you believe that now?" Castiel asked, and when Gabriel nodded, he asked about Dean.

"It's not that you love him," Gabriel said, hands twisting in his lap, eyes locked on them. "It's that you don't love me anymore."

"You stupid fool," Castiel said, voice dark with anger.

Gabriel's head jerked up as Castiel grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him in for a kiss. Gabriel returned it for a moment, just a second, before he jerked back.

"What about Dean?"

Castiel shook his head. "There's a reason Dean's buying you breakfast," he told Gabriel, but Gabriel only squinted in confusion. Castiel laughed and pulled him into another kiss. Gabriel kissed back, but his confusion only grew. The kiss was tender and sweet and lingering. It was the kind of kiss Castiel only gave to those he loved, and Gabriel knew he'd lost that right.

He jerked back again when the apartment door opened, Dean slamming in with bags of food. He stared at the two of them for a moment, face a strange kind of shocked, but instead of yelling or throwing things, he rolled his eyes and told them to get off their asses and help him.

Castiel gestured for him to stay put and followed Dean. He could hear them, from where they were huddled just inside the kitchen entry. Castiel asked Dean if he was okay. Dean gave a soft little laugh and said he was. 

"Just strange is all," Dean said. "My first reaction is to get pissed."

"Do you want him to go?" Castiel asked. Gabriel's stomach sank, but Dean shook his head. 

"Nah. Just need to get used to it."

When Castiel came out carrying plates and silverware, his face was soft with a gentle sort of delight. He settled onto the couch next to Gabriel, and Dean settled on his other side. They ate together in silence, brushing shoulders and arms. 

Afterwards, Castiel leaned back so he could see them both. He told Gabriel he still loved him, admitted that he always would. He loved Dean too, and Dean was not going anywhere in his life, but Dean was willing to try if Gabriel was.

Gabriel looked away to consider. "I don't know," he admitted. It was painful but it was the truth, and when he looked back at Castiel, he was beaming at Gabriel, pride and love so clear in his expression, Gabriel's breath caught in his throat.

"That's fine," he told Gabriel. "I'm not ready yet either. We have more things to talk about."

Dean groaned, but only because he knew just how much talking was going to happen. He grumbled under his breath to Castiel’s and Gabriel's delighted laughter.


End file.
